Freedom Partners Applauds President Trump for Protecting U.S. Taxpayers and the Economy from Harmful Paris Agreement

Arlington, VA – President Donald Trump will withdraw the U.S. from an international agreement to mandate carbon emission levels, following through with a campaign promise. While non-binding and unenforceable, the agreement commits the U.S. to more expensive, less reliable sources of energy while transferring a massive amount of taxpayer dollars abroad in the form of over $400 million in foreign aid. President Obama pledged up to $3 billion in other funds from the U.S.

Freedom Partners Vice President of Policy Nathan Nascimento issued the following statement:

“President Obama’s symbolic Paris agreement was a giveaway to special interests – at the expense of hardworking Americans – and would have had no discernible impact on the climate. The truth is, the kind of harmful regulations and mandates in this agreement are exactly what cripple economies and stifle the very investment and innovation needed to truly improve the environment. President Trump is right to withdraw from this bad deal and we urge continued action by the administration and Congress to repeal as many job-crushing regulations as soon as possible. A clean environment requires a growing and thriving economy, and any deal that sacrifices economic growth would be counterproductive for the environment and devastating to American families.”

Under President Obama, over 600 major regulations were added to the Federal Register at costs exceeding $700 billion.

Financial Times:An International Agreement In Paris Is Non-Binding And Non-Enforceable. “John Kerry, U.S. secretary of state, has warned that December’s Paris climate change talks will not deliver a ‘treaty’ that legally requires countries to cut their carbon emissions, exposing international divisions over how to enforce a deal.” (Demetri Sevastopulo & Pilita Clark, “Paris Climate Deal Will Not Be A Legally Binding Treaty,” Financial Times, 11/11/15)

Former Secretary of State John Kerry: Any deal to cut CO2 emissions is “definitively not going to be a treaty.” (Demetri Sevastopulo & Pilita Clark, “Paris Climate Deal Will Not Be A Legally Binding Treaty,” Financial Times, 11/11/15)

The Wall Street JournalEditorial Board: The Paris Agreement Would Produce Nearly No Discernible Impact On Global Temperatures.“[N]othing that emerges from Paris will have a discernible effect on world temperatures. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studied the INDCs that have been released so far and concluded that temperatures in 2100 will rise 3.7 degrees Celsius if they are followed to the letter. Then again, these are the same scientific models that predicted much higher temperatures than we’ve had.” (Editorial, “We’ll Always Have The Illusions Of Paris: The Climate Talks Will Have Zero Impact On Global Temperatures,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/1/15)

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy Professed That “The Great Thing About This [111(D)] Proposal Is That It Really Is An Investment Opportunity. This Is Not About Pollution Control.” (“Pollution vs. Energy: Lacking Proper Authority, EPA Can’t Get Carbon Message Straight,” Energy & Commerce Committee, 6/23/14)

NERA Economic Consulting:43 States Will See Double-Digit Percentage Increases In Electricity Bills Under Obama Energy Mandates. “The analysis, written by Nera Economic Consulting, said that people in 43 states would see double-digit percentage increases in their electricity bills, with at least 20 percent increases in 14 states.” (Timothy Cama, “Industry-Backed Report Says EPA Climate Rule To Cost $366B,” The Hill, 10/16/14)